Chrome Operating System

What Does Chrome Operating System Mean?

The Chrome operating system (Chrome OS) is an operating system launched by Google that is designed for users who spend a large amount of their time on the Internet using Web applications. It is designed around the key tenets of pace, ease-of-use and security.

Advertisements

Because this OS is exclusively aimed at intensive Web users, the only application included in Chrome OS is a Web browser that incorporates a media player and a file browser.

Techopedia Explains Chrome Operating System

Chrome OS should not be confused with Chromium OS, an open source OS and the parent project of Chrome OS. Unlike Chromium OS, users can’t download and install the Chrome OS because of built-in security features. Instead, Chrome OS is available as a preinstalled OS on Google Chromebooks, which were introduced by Google in conjunction with its manufacturing partners.

Users of netbooks, laptops and mini laptops are the biggest fans of Chrome OS. The primary advantages of this operating system include its lightning-fast Web browsing and loading speed, which Google claims is only eight seconds. It also incorporates anti-virus scanning and the ability to detect potentially harmful websites. Google OS’s features also include automatic updates and sandboxing that isolates malware from the system’s memory.

Chrome OS runs numerous Web-based applications, but it does not run conventional PC software. Chrome OS developers are in the process of developing a free service called Chromoting, which will permit the Chrome OS users to remotely access their current desktops and Macs.

Advertisements

Related Terms

Latest Cloud-Native Development Terms

Related Reading

Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…